Free Enterprise And Free Market Did Not Define American Exceptionalism (enemies, Reagan)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What made America great was the doings of our government. When the troops came home from the war, the GI bill allowed many of them to go to school to invest in themselves. This, in return, created a skilled class in this country. The GI bill gave money to troops to puchase homes and expand suburban metros.
The government built a highway system that connected major cities. This is not a product of free enterprise. GM lobbied Washington into implementing a national highway system. This is cronyism.Again, nothing to do with free enterprise.
The fact of the matter is that this country never had true capitalism and competition.
I just want to make this clear to refute the notion that America is great because of capitalism and free enterprise.
During the 20th century, people in America were freer to realize the highest fraction of their own potential, and own the highest fraction of the results of their effort, compared to any other nation on earth. This was the source of American exceptionalism.
I don't care what you call it, it obviously wasn't theoretically pure capitalism or free markets, but it sure as heck bears little relationship to the current administration's vision for America.
During the 20th century, people in America were freer to realize the highest fraction of their own potential, and own the highest fraction of the results of their effort, compared to any other nation on earth. This was the source of American exceptionalism.
I don't care what you call it, it obviously wasn't theoretically pure capitalism or free markets, but it sure as heck bears little relationship to the current administration's vision for America.
Which previous administration's vision were you in favor of and why? Just curious.
None of those define American Exceptionalism because American Exceptionalism is a myth for the most part. Having two oceans protect America from powerful adversaries and two weak neighbors (Canada and Mexico) under the American sphere of influence is what truly made America into a superpower and feed into the myth of exceptionalism.
What made America great was the doings of our government. When the troops came home from the war, the GI bill allowed many of them to go to school to invest in themselves. This, in return, created a skilled class in this country. The GI bill gave money to troops to puchase homes and expand suburban metros.
The government built a highway system that connected major cities. This is not a product of free enterprise. GM lobbied Washington into implementing a national highway system. This is cronyism.Again, nothing to do with free enterprise.
The fact of the matter is that this country never had true capitalism and competition.
I just want to make this clear to refute the notion that America is great because of capitalism and free enterprise.
I'm not sure why it has to be an either or proposition.
Ah, another bash America thread. You're all partly right. Much of our nation's innovations came without the interference of the federal government. Such innovations helped to spur industry and jobs. The depression of the 20s came and went fast due to a US president who choose to do nothing. When another depression happened, that president choose to do everything he could and it prolonged the depression until WW2. when the war was over, much of the manufacturing plants in Europe and Asia were destroyed. That's what helped bring about a recovery and boom times. In the process of helping our enemies recover, we sewed the seeds of our future economic downfall starting with the Korean war. Someone figured out it would be cheaper to build our Jeeps in Japan then ship them to Korea. Thus was born the Japanes auto industry. Pride and complacency combined in the American auto industry to stagnate product quality rather than make improvements. This attitude showed itself in other industries. Gradually, other nations caught up and surpassed us in workmanship.
When I think of American exceptionalism, I think of the nation as a whole which means the people who make this nation work. The people who contribute to this nation rather than those who expect the government to provide for them even when they're physically able to do for themselves.
Which previous administration's vision were you in favor of and why? Just curious.
This is an easy question: Reagan. Ford was a good and decent man, as was Carter. Carter's vision was one of decline. Reagan expressed it better than Ford. Bush I didn't like "the vision thing" and Bush II was just not good. Clinton in his second term might take second place in my book, I'll never forget "The era of big government is over."
This is an easy question: Reagan. Ford was a good and decent man, as was Carter. Carter's vision was one of decline. Reagan expressed it better than Ford. Bush I didn't like "the vision thing" and Bush II was just not good. Clinton in his second term might take second place in my book, I'll never forget "The era of big government is over."
Thanks for the response, but you still did not explain why. In all honesty, there are many who believe that Reagan was actually the POTUS that started us down this decline.
History News Network (http://hnn.us/articles/53527.html - broken link)
Thanks for the response, but you still did not explain why. In all honesty, there are many who believe that Reagan was actually the POTUS that started us down this decline.
History News Network (http://hnn.us/articles/53527.html - broken link)
Sorry for the oversight. I believe that America is exceptional because for most of its history, it has been the place on earth where more people have had more freedom to unlock their own potential than anywhere else--and to keep a significant share of the results of their effort. The power of this principle created wealth and prosperity and improvement in living conditions unimaginable from the beginning to the end of any fifty year period in our history. And I think Reagan enunciated this vision better than any other in my lifetime.
The greatest failing that we have as a society has been the failure to make that statement truer for more people. The failure of our big-city schools betrays its victims, the war on drugs is a distraction from it, the waste of our blood and treasure in overseas adventures, discrimination, tenure for the incompetent (in any field), counterproductive regulation....all of these things increase the gap between what we are and what we could be.
Ah, another bash America thread. You're all partly right. Much of our nation's innovations came without the interference of the federal government. Such innovations helped to spur industry and jobs. The depression of the 20s came and went fast due to a US president who choose to do nothing. When another depression happened, that president choose to do everything he could and it prolonged the depression until WW2. when the war was over, much of the manufacturing plants in Europe and Asia were destroyed. That's what helped bring about a recovery and boom times. In the process of helping our enemies recover, we sewed the seeds of our future economic downfall starting with the Korean war. Someone figured out it would be cheaper to build our Jeeps in Japan then ship them to Korea. Thus was born the Japanes auto industry. Pride and complacency combined in the American auto industry to stagnate product quality rather than make improvements. This attitude showed itself in other industries. Gradually, other nations caught up and surpassed us in workmanship.
When I think of American exceptionalism, I think of the nation as a whole which means the people who make this nation work. The people who contribute to this nation rather than those who expect the government to provide for them even when they're physically able to do for themselves.
Silicon Valley was formed through defense spending. The government sponsored a lot of William Shockley's research during WWII so that they can get superior telecommunication technology to fight the Axis powers. Shockley and his team discovered the transistor which is the basis of semiconductor technology. He also formed a company called Fairchild Semiconductors and that company relied on government contracts to stay afloat. A lot of the early employees left Fairchild to form famous companies such as AMD and Intel. A lot of these companies also relied on government contracts (especially defense contracts) to stay afloat.
The Internet was also formed from the research done by the Department of Defense. The DOD sponsored ARPANET which forms the basis of the core of the Internet. The government also funded the Human Genome Project. GPS also has its origins from military research.
It is true that the government can stifle the private but the government is also crucial for unprofitable basic research. A lot of companies refuse to conduct basic research because it is too expensive and most of the time it is hard to develop any tangible products from the research. So to say that a lot of innovation came from an absence of interference from the federal government is a bit dishonest.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
